The decade of the 1930s was home to some of the most beautiful automotive styling ever created. The products of that decade – automobiles, household items, clothing, architecture and more – can be traced back to their period of origin because of their distinctive appearance. Perhaps more blatantly so than in other decades, the look of those products was influenced by the popular design trends of their day, those being Art Deco and Streamline Moderne.

Art Deco is one of those terms that people generally apply to the bold, swoopy, intricate designs that were broadly seen from the late 1920s through the early 1940s. But what does it really mean? It’s a term that was coined in the late 1960s, and it refers to an international decorative arts movement that entered popular consciousness after the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes (International Exhibit of Decorative Arts and Modern Industries) event was held in Paris. Characterized by spare, geometrical patterns, boldly saturated colors and use of contrasting materials, this “Style moderne,” as it was then called, was a reaction to the perceived excesses of the Art Nouveau (circa 1890-1914) movement; during that movement’s period of influence, the automobile was largely too primitive and mechanically-focused to overtly exhibit its influence.

The period between World Wars I and II has been called America’s Machine Age; it was a time when progress was everywhere, when cars and trains and airplanes became more efficient and faster and the country pushed forward to modernity. Art Deco is most closely tied with the “Roaring Twenties,” reaching at its peak of popularity in the first half of the Machine Age, when it dominated high-end luxury crafts, as well as influencing architecture and furnishings. Its ornamentation included zigzags, chevrons, sun rays and stylized foliage, with an emphasis on vertical shapes and sharp geometric arrangements.

1931 Avions Voisin C14. Photo by Simon Clay, courtesy Bonhams.

The most famous American example of a building decorated with Art Deco design motifs – and not coincidentally, one with an automotive theme as well – is New York City’s iconic Chrysler Building, designed by William Van Alen and dating from 1930.

Chrysler Building, New York City. Photo by Carol Highsmith.

As America slipped further into the Great Depression, Art Deco’s cheery influence was gradually tempered with, and then replaced by, that of the related Streamline (or, to the art world, Art) Moderne. Using the Depression’s austerity to its advantage and celebrating the machine-made, this home-grown design theme tapped into the general sense of progress that arrived with newly practical and accessible transportation forms like the metal fuselage-bodied airplane, the sleek Zeppelin, the high performance automobile and the luxurious ocean liner. Also influential were new industrial, scientific and communication machines that, for the average consumer, created desire for greater efficiency, dynamism and speed.

Photo courtesy Bubba1.

The streamlining influence that began to appear in car styling in the early-mid 1930s – those cues that we generally characterize as Art Deco – was actually Streamline Moderne. Representing this aerodynamic efficiency and speed in design form were Streamline Moderne’s smoothly curved aesthetics, spare, horizontal “speed lines” and careful symmetry. Grilles and windshields leaned back, fenders were crowned and valanced, and cars sat lower over wider, smaller-diameter wheels and balloon tires.

1934 Studebaker Land Cruiser. Photo courtesy Walter E. Gosden

Like the 1925 Paris exposition did for Art Deco, the 1933-1934 “Century of Progress” Chicago World’s Fair did for Streamline Moderne: It introduced this new refined movement to the general public. Replacing the tight control, ornate decoration and bold colors of Deco were sleek forms, neutral and pastel colors and metallic accents; new materials like Bakelite plastic, Vitrolite opaque glass and Formica, as well as technical materials like engine-turned and polished aluminum, brushed stainless steel and glossy enamel, were favored. Even more so than had Art Deco, the Streamline Moderne style found its way into virtually every aspect of Americans’ lives, including architecture and home goods, where it made devices that were previously purely functional into items of beauty.

And sometimes they pushed the boundaries of design altogether, as in forward-thinking concepts like 1938′s Buick Y-Job and the otherworldly Phantom Corsair.

World War II changed everything, and when auto production resumed in 1945, we’d left the Machine Age and entered the Atomic Age, and automotive styling moved on. Whether we attribute it to Art Deco or Streamline Moderne design trends, we’ve never forgotten how beautiful the promise of modern speed, seen through a 1930s looking glass, could be.

34 Responses to “When Art Deco is really Streamline Moderne, and what it meant for 1930s auto design”

If there’s a time period in the history of design that I like better, I can’t think of it. The Phantom Corsair is a dream; a design that was obviously way ahead of its time; too far ahead, I think. People can’t handle things changing that dramatically, that quickly. A Graham is definitely on my wish list, fantastic cars.

I look at the top picture and can’t help but wonder: Where’s Flash Gordon when you need him? I agree with you, Scotty, in that the Graham is a desirable car to have; maybe a little overdone but it got attention.

Howard, the streamliner trains were quite a rage, even into the ‘covered wagons’ before they redesigned the locomotives into the versions of today that look like they were made out of Lego.

The Pontiac interior seems to suggest the influence of Warren MacArthur whose aluminum tube furniture is still in demand. His expertise in all things aluminum helped to shape the early days of the RV/campers and later also impacted WWII bombers thanks to his carefully designed, more ergonomic and vastly more comfortable seats which were welcomed enthusiastically by long range bomber crews in particular.

The Constellation is a Howard Hughes design, which explains its combination of beauty and functionality. [Cf: the P-38]. The triple rudder design was intended to allow it to fit into hangars without extra height requirements. I agree, Graham, it’s enchantingly beautiful, and has always been one of my favorites.

I had a toy one as a child with a transparent section so you could see the seating – it’s among the top half-dozen of my “wish I had it now” childhood toys.

I find it curious to wonder WHY this ‘phase of style’ happened when it did; was it a reaction to depression years, was it the study fluid dynamics (the early Zeppelin wind tunnel work), the study of nature’s natural forms or the need to express individuality and the ability to afford it, or ………? To be sure it was a fun period, as it is even now to re-visit or collect.

As amazing design as the Corsair was, it did not influence design as much as it borrowed from others and put them together in a dramatic fashion.
There were 4 distinct types of “art deco”, starting in the ’20s with the Egyptian/Aztec style. Chrome tube furniture started in the ’20s before the aviation industry. It was embrace as the most modern of furniture design, owing little to traditional furniture. Because of it’s style, modernity connotations, durability, & cost, it became a favorite of commercial contract suppliers.

This is another enjoyable article on design that can entertain & inform a public not accustomed to design history.

We railfans have had this subject well covered in the pages of Trains and other magazines.

ART NOUVEAU: The railroad, pre-dating the automobile, had plenty of opportunity to apply Art Nouveau designs to anything from the cast iron streetlamps of the Paris Metro to lavish dining car interiors festooned with flowing, organic shapes straight out of a Mucha poster, during the Age of Innocence.

ART DECO: Likewise the railroads stuck primarily with interior design and left the locomotives alone. Elegant, Egyptian-themed diners and “modern” parlor cars likewise conveyed the latest in style for this moneyed group.

THEN CAME THE DEPRESSION…..and ridership, in decline all thru the 1920s as the automobile made steady inroads, now hits the crisis point for many railroads.

NOW, TO HEAR THE RAILROADS TELL IT….you would think that THEY were almost solely responsible for the application of Moderne styling to their locomotives and cars, and everyone else followed:

Adding a streamlined shell and speedline paint to a locomotive was a relatively cheap way to get the general public to take a second look at the “new”, faster and more efficient railroad.

Examples were designed by noted industrial artists such as Otto Kuhler:

HOLY COW are those honkin’ long URLs! My apologies; hope they connect [I'm STILL an "absolute beginner" in many aspects of the Internet.].

BTW Howard, your image was the “Atlantic” [4-4-2 wheel configuration] Hiawatha, designed by Kuhler. Check out THIS one, a “Hudson” [4-6-4 wheel configuration] Hiawatha, larger, more advanced, and more powerful.

OK, OK, agreed. By the way, I have [on vinyl] a recording of the A-4 doing a run. Most impressive!

However, when #611 gets back on the rails, if they would only let the engineer [driver] “open ‘er up”, I think you would be most impressed. When they get her back on the rails, YOU MUST COME OVER and see and ride behind it – an experience of a lifetime!

to see and learn about the best in American Art Deco movement check out
Cord Complete, the Ultimate History of the 810-812 Cords of 1936-37 .
Showcases the story of Phantom Corsair, Amelia Earhart Cord and plane,
slipcase in Art Deco pattern from ACD Museum and much more about the people
the hardships and the incrediable cars of Gordon Buehrig and EL Cord Empire.

What a wonderful, informative piece. I was looking at that beautiful green Hudson and thinking how wonderful it would look in front of my 1932 home in Portland. We spent years restoring it including the acquisition of original art-deco “slipper shade” chandeliers and wall sconces. They look so wonderful with the dark mahogony woodwork and beamed ceiling. Now if I just had that Hudson parked in front……

In the tsunami rush of info, I didn’t catch the year or make of that first car (masterpiece) pictured. Everything else seems to be identified. What gives, Mr. McCourt? The brilliant architecture of the Chrysler Building is wonderfully timeless, not to mention beautiful.

Buy a copy of the History channel DVD they did on the Chrysler building – amazing. I have visited the Chrysler building many times, each time leave in awe of how magnificent it is. the lobby is incredible. Walter Chrysler lived on an estate on long island sound (now the Merchant Marine Academy) and could walk out the back of his mansion on to his boat dock on the sound and look towards Manhattan and see that building that had his name on it.

interesting article. coincidentally, there is a whole section devoted to the Art Deco movement in automotive styling in a new book about Saoutchik and the French coachbuilding industry coming out in August.